


Stormy Weather

by darkesky



Series: Duality [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Twins, Blizzards & Snowstorms, Episode: s01 Climatika | Stormy Weather, F/M, Gen, Miraculous Ladybug PV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24083848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkesky/pseuds/darkesky
Summary: "Do you know what the perfect way to spend a Friday is?" Alya starts to grin, trying but failing to contain her excitement.“Catching up on my excessive workload,” Felix deadpans.Adrien glances at Marinette. Her face slowly flushes pink before she bows her head, and he grins softly. “With good friends?”“Exactly!” Alya claps her hands together before elbowing the other girl.Despite the stammering, Marinette manages to launch herself into a rambling itinerary. “The KIDZ Station just launched their conclusion—er, finale—of that one competition, uh, that contest for the next weather girl—”---In which babysitting and modeling lead to a spontaneous meetup (and a blizzard in September)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Series: Duality [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555636
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Stormy Weather

**Author's Note:**

  * For [timerise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/timerise/gifts).



> I haven't written Miraculous Ladybug in SUCH a long time, but I forgot how much I love their dynamics in this series. So, it was a fun return (especially since I have so much time with quarantine haha). that said, i found this like 2/3rds finished, so some of it was written five months ago, and some of it was written recently, and it might show because I hoped (fingers crossed) I've improved since then. Also? Thank you so so so much timerise for inspiring me again!

_ Much to Duusu’s great dismay, the kwamis only reappeared when some great evil threatened the world. It meant fight—some may argue needless fighting. He personally believed everybody could be swayed with words. As long as both parties remained truthful, no difference was too great to be conquered. _

_ Duusu knew the others considered him to be helpless. Most of them ignored him and his Wielder. The others could end fights, but Duusu offered tools to succeed.  _ Pathfinder?  _ That could hardly be considered an offense or defensive move. His darts and fans? They required such great precision his peachicks rarely used them as weapons. Or, at the very least, they lacked the potential to become a weapon on the magnitude of, say, a baton or a yo-yo. _

_ Besides, he valued composure and intelligence over everything else. If you possessed those two qualities, you often possessed a truthful nature—or, he could encourage them to pursue that route.  _

_ “Stop materializing those darts.” Trixx plopped down next to him, rubbing her face against his tail. “They don’t even work.” _

_ He made a noise low in his throat before sliding away from her. Carefully, Duusu started to fix the feathers while she smirked at him, eyes glowing in the dim light. “I’m just practicing; besides, they’re  _ perfectly  _ effective.” _

_ “Effective? Hardly.” Trixx let out a low whistle, the noise escaping between her teeth. As she stretched out her paws, a replica of the flute she gave her wielders appeared. “See? Mine is  _ perfect  _ for whacking people.” _

_ “I’m not here to cause trouble.” He puffed out his chest. “My darts are helpful.” _

_ “Rarely. If, like, the stars align.” She rolled her eyes and reached up. As she tried to bop him on the nose with her flute, he grabbed the tip and threw it to the side. As it clattered across the floor, Trixx pouted and collapsed onto his legs, pinning him into place. _

_ He groaned down at her. “I’m not going to force anyone into violence. Haven’t you read anything about nonviolence triumphing over violence?” _

_ “I haven’t read anything in a long time, Duusu. When I get a Wielder and leave this stupid box, I’m not going to waste my time reading. I’ll watch the Olympics. I’ll watch sports. I’ll watch…” She paused before shrugging. “I’ll watch anything, but I won’t waste time reading anything.” _

_ “You don’t get to come out of the box often,” he finally said. _

_ Trixx made a face. “No shit.” _

_ “Trixx—”  _

_ “It’s because me and you aren’t the fighting types. We’re good at diversions. We’re good at planning. We’re good at doing what’s necessary to get to the final step, but we’re bad at the final step.” She batted at his chest. “But if you made something better than darts, maybe they’d let us out of the box more often.” _

_ “The darts are helpful. You just haven't…” _

_ “Pollen, bow and arrow. Plagg, baton. Tikki, yo-yo. Wayzz, shield. Nooroo, staff. Me, flute.” She cocked her head. “Tell me where darts fit on that list.” _

_ “I’m not promoting violence.” He ignored the way she snorted. _

_ As she twisted and leapt into the air, ready to leave, she paused before offering a fanged smile. “You’ll eat your words one day.” _

_ - _

Keeping her eyes trained on her sketchbook (a different one than usual; she plastered stickers on the cover to make Manon smile and never does anything too important in case she insists she rips it out), Marinette struggles to ignore the hot breath billowing against her neck. Her hand stutters and creates a stray line on the design. Biting her lip, she tries to ignore when a little elbow jostles her in an attempt to get closer.

Nestling her pencil in the crook of the book, she glances over at Manon. “C’mon, sweetheart, if you don’t give me enough room, I’m going to mess up your dolls!”

“I want them  _ now  _ though,” Manon whines, reaching over to pull on the tips of Marinette’s pigtails.

For a second, Marinette glances at her schedule this week. She already fell behind on most of her obligations. She needs to spend a few more hours working in the bakery to make her parents’ lives easier (though they insist she doesn’t need to, she can see the bags under their eyes), she needs to finish up the costumes for Nino’s film they’re shooting soon, and she needs to get her room ready for Bridgette. That’s not to mention Felix Agreste warned her he intended to host another competition soon, and he expected her to enter and sweep.

Adding dolls to the mix might not have been the smartest idea. However, Manon sparked her inspiration, and Marinette wants the dolls for herself. “I’ll make them as fast as possible; I promise. In the meantime, uh, why don’t you…  _ Oh!  _ Why don’t we watch the finale of the KIDZ contest?”

“Wait, really?” Manon scrambles off the chaise, several feet ahead of Marinette, as she pounces into her desk chair. The show’s popularity waned after the appearance of the two superheroes (how do you compete with Chat Noir and Ladybug?), but everyone wants to watch the finale. After all, they’ve watched 4998 contestants get whittled down to two.

One is Aurore Beaureal. She knows the girl from several years back when the two were in the same grade. Then, Aurore skipped one and ended up a year higher than Marinette. Since then, they haven’t gotten a chance to talk, but she knows Aurore is a sweet girl… She  _ hopes,  _ at least, Aurore wins.

And Mirelle… Well, she’s homeschooled. She reminds Marinette of Adrien, just a little bit. The girl’s a little more socially awkward, but she knows when to pose like a model. It’s not as  _ good  _ as Adrien, but— 

“Marinette, I don’t know your password,” Manon whines.

Marinette gets out of her thoughts and hurries over with a breezy laugh. “Oh, sorry! Let’s get that booted up for you… Who do you want to win?”

“Mirelle!” The second the screen flickers, she stabs a pudgy finger at her. Then, in a too-loud whisper, she leans in. “Mommy told me she’s gonna win!”

“Your… Mommy?”

“Yeah! Mommy said the netting people want Mirelle because she’s better.” Triumphantly, the little girl throws herself back in Marinette’s chair and almost sends it flying across the room. She manages to catch it before it can go too far.

The netting people… The  _ network? _

Marinette wrinkles her nose up. Poor girl. Nobody deserves to get an opportunity ripped away from them. It would be one thing if Mirelle won, fair and square. It’s another thing Mirelle gets the opportunity played into her hands, and Aurore doesn’t even know it’s coming. And… While Mirelle might deserve it, it was meant to be determined by popular vote.

As Marinette retreats from the computer screen, her phone buzzes in her pocket. Giving Manon a once-over, she answers. “Hey, Alya!”

“Hey, girl, you still babysitting Chamack’s kiddo?” Alya tries to peer past her.

As she angles the screen to show Manon, Alya pans the camera to two little faces right next to her. Ella and Etta start grabbing for the phone desperately as Alya dances out of their grip. “See my little demons? Wanna make a playdate at the park?”

“The park?” Manon’s head shoots up. “Oh, Marinette, can we?  _ Please?” _

“I’m not sure…” Marinette won’t be able to get through her responsibilities nearly as fast if she goes out to the park. At least as she designs the dolls for Manon, Manon’s content because she really  _ wants  _ a tiny copy of Chat Noir and Ladybug. It’ll be nice to actually make something for  _ her,  _ too, because she knows Nadja won’t let Manon keep them full-time. But also, hanging out with Alya…

Alya hums. “See, I had a feeling you might say that. So…”

The camera tilts again, this time angled at the fountain. Sitting on the edge, posing in clothing she’s yet to see before, Adrien eases into an effortless position and smiles politely at the camera. Marinette’s heart drops. When he left early from school today, she just  _ assumed  _ the photo shoot must be out of town. 

It shifts and displays a bench near the fountain. Nino sits there, hat pulled down low with his headphones clamped around his ears. Felix and Nathaniel sit next to him, ignoring him, and gossip about something in low tones. It makes both boys laugh, and Nino tilts his head somewhat. Nathaniel raps on the headphones, and when Nino finally pulls them off, he joins the conversation.

“The boys all came out. I think Adrien invited Nino because he’s been a little… In the dumps lately.” Alya makes a face.

Marinette’s heart goes out to the boy. He got ridiculed by Chloe for wanting to help his friend, and he got akumatized. While she knows all of the akuma victims regret their actions, Ivan didn’t seem to take it as hard as Nino. Ivan retreated to the sweet comfort of his friends and Mylene. 

Nino keeps trying to push all of them away.

She nods. “I think… I think that’s a damning reason for why I have to come, isn’t it?”

“Hell yeah! And, Manon can hang out with the little ones!” Alya grins as the twins start cheering. It’s loud enough Manon scrambles over to Marinette and pulls on her arm. When she spots her friend, she starts grabbing for the phone.

Marinette pulls her arm free. “We’re on our way. C’mon, Manon, do you want a piggyback ride to the park?”

“Yeah!” 

In some ways, being Ladybug really benefits her. A few people question her stamina now, and Marinette attempts to hide her more athletic skills in gym, but it  _ does  _ benefit her. Besides, the laughter of Manon makes the risk of exposing herself worth it.

“Let’s go!” she calls, throwing open the trap door.

-

Adrien perches on the fountain before reaching down at the tennis shoes. He pauses before sticking out his tongue, squinting his eyes, and he hears Vincent’s cackle of delight at the pose. The click of the camera follows. 

If he’s being completely honest, he already forgot which article of clothing he’s showing off at this moment. He knows it’s for some up-and-coming brand name, someone his father wants to make bonds with immediately. But, he doesn’t know if these are their sneakers or maybe this is their hoodie or…

It doesn’t matter. Modeling doesn’t take any brainpower, not like this. It just takes a pretty smile and a perfect pose.

Then, he hears the familiar chime of a phone, and Vincent lets out a growl. As he lowers his camera, he pouts at Adrien. “Monsieur Agreste, surely we can do just a  _ few  _ more photos with these shoes?”

_ “Surely,  _ you want to make sure you budgeted your time well. And  _ surely,  _ you don’t want to be yanked away from this photo shoot before your time officially ends.” Felix silences the alarm on his phone before giving the photographer a pointed look. Adrien tries to hide his smile; there’s a reason they started sending Felix instead of Nathalie to these events.

The man sighs. “Fine. Twenty minutes.”

“Twenty minutes,” Adrien agrees with a smile before bouncing over to the bench. The three of them set up shop, waiting patiently for his seven-hour shift to be over. He’s halfway through at this point. All he needs to do is outlast, to be honest.

Nino glances up as he approaches. With a forced smile, he wolf-whistles. “See? Dude, this is why all the girls are fawning over you!”

“Thank you!” Adrien sits on the arm of the bench, leaning most of his weight against the other boy. Nino stares at him for a few seconds before shrugging. “I know it’s a little boring, but you said you wanted to get out of your house, and…”

“Adrien likes to preen in front of an audience.” Felix rolls his eyes, sparking a laugh from Nathaniel. His eyes soften the second the redhead tries to stifle his giggle.

Adrien makes a note to bring this up tonight.

Nathaniel clears his throat.  _ “But,  _ this is really cool. We get to watch Felix boss everyone around.”

“Oh, yeah. If there’s one thing my brother’s good at, it’s making sure everyone else is uncomfortable.” He winks at Felix, who scowls. Then, glancing over Nino’s shoulder, Adrien taps at the text message which appears. “Wow, am I not enough for you?”

“I promise you. I had no idea this was going to happen.” Nino peeks up from the phone screen. Across the park, near the carousel, Alya and Marinette stand in line with three girls flocking around their legs. Adrien feels a smile starting to pull at his lips before forcing it to be smaller. Dimmer. It’s too  _ Chat Noir,  _ not enough Adrien, and the second he gives a megawatt Chat Noir smile, Vincent will want it to become Adrien’s. And he’s not willing to share it with the whole world like that.

His brother reaches over and flicks him in the forehead. “Don’t you need to start changing for the next part of the photo shoot? Not sure if these shoes will cut it this time around.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Tearing his eyes away from the two girls, Adrien reaches beneath the bench to the duffle bag Felix hauled to the shoot. Nathalie had to tuck it in the car to make sure they actually took it  _ with  _ them. A lot of new clothes arrived at their doorstop due to their birthdays; a show of goodwill to guarantee a later partnership. Adrien hasn’t even  _ started  _ making his way through all of that.

Nathaniel waves at the two girls, and he can hear them making their way over. Felix sighs. “Great. And now we’ll have the full peanut gallery.”

“It’s  _ my  _ break.” As Adrien trades out the sneakers for a pair of high tops, he reaches over and kicks at his brother’s foot. Then, he wrinkles his nose and makes a face. “These would be awful for anything physical.”

“From what I’ve heard, impractical footwear is in. Haven’t you seen Chat Noir and Le Paon’s choices?” Felix laughs to himself, and Nathaniel blushes bright red next to him. Adrien lifts an eyebrow and shuts up Felix.

As they approach, Alya clears her throat and interrupts the moment. “So, since we don’t have school tomorrow—”

“What?” Felix makes a face and reaches for his tablet. “I didn’t hear anything about that—”

“The Miraculous Team managed to convince Monsieur Damocles we need an akuma alarm system. They have to install it, though, and since they think it’ll take about three days, we don’t have school tomorrow.” A huge smile starts to spread across Alya’s face. “And you know what the  _ perfect  _ way to spend a Friday is?”

“Catching up on my excessive workload,” Felix deadpans.

Adrien nudges him again with his new hightop before twisting to glance up at Marinette. Her face slowly flushes pink before she bows her head, and he grins softly. “With good friends?”

“Exactly!” Alya claps her hands together before elbowing the other girl.

Despite the stammering, Marinette manages to launch herself into a rambling itinerary. “The KIDZ Station just launched their conclusion—er, finale—of that one competition, uh, that contest for the next weather girl—”

“Holy shit, was that today?” Nino sits upright, his eyes starting to gleam. “Dude, wait, who won? Mirelle or Aurore?”

“Mirelle is going to win!” A little girl peeks out from around Marinette’s legs. Then, she sprints up and sits in front of Adrien. Sitting criss-cross apple-sauce, she peeks at him beneath her thick eyelashes. “You’re the boy on the billboards Mommy wants to interview!”

_ ‘Mommy?’  _ he mouths to Marinette.

She covers her face briefly before mouthing,  _ ‘Nadja Chamack.’ _

Alya clears her throat, but when Adrien glances at her, she keeps her gaze fixated on Nino. “Speaking of  _ interviews…” _

“I thought we agreed we’d let that go.” Nino deflates into the bench, and he starts to tug at his headphones. 

She steps forward and grabs his wrist. For a second, they stare at each other, and Adrien eases off the bench and retreats from the situation. He can tie his shoes on the ground; he wants  _ no part  _ of that. “You agreed to let that drop. I need… No other news source got an akuma victim interview. It’ll put the Ladyblog ahead of everyone else! I have, like, snippets from the superheroes, but—”

“Not much of a victim when I bubbled everyone,” Nino snaps.

Adrien starts to say something, trying to defuse the situation, when a camera clicks. As he stiffens, Felix springs to his feet. “What part of ‘twenty minute break’ do you  _ not  _ understand, Vincent?”

“My apologies, Monsieur Agreste, but the scene here was almost too much to resist—”

“You might want to get out of here.” Finishing the bow, he pushes to his feet and glances at Marinette with a sigh. “This might get ugly.” 

-

“Dude,” Nino says as Adrien reclaims his spot on the fountain, brightening as Alya retreats with the rest of the girls, “that was completely  _ badass.” _

“It was impressive,” Nathaniel agrees.

Felix ignores both of their praises. Of course, this seems badass to them; yelling at adults goes outside of their usual realm of control. Right now, he’s just trying to calm his beating heart. How  _ dare  _ they insult Adrien like that? How dare they  _ hurt  _ Adrien like that? Every photographer knows they can push his brother around, and when anyone else comes to handle a photo shoot, he’s sure they get away with it. They’ve broken several laws before. What’s a few more?

Pulling out his phone, he starts to draft a very  _ aggressive  _ email towards Nathalie. He knows better than to send one to Gabriel; Gabriel would delete it before he even reads the subject line. At least this way, he knows it’ll be briefly looked over.

Before he can even get past the salutation, Nathaniel nudges him. “Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m not the person who purposefully cut their break short.” He sends his brother a glare. As if Adrien can sense it, his twin glances over and offers his best smile. Felix resists the urge to flip him off, but judging by the quick way Adrien returns to the camera, the message got across.

Nino’s head snaps back and forth between them. “Dude.  _ Dude.  _ Was that twin telepathy? I didn’t know you could do that!” 

“It wasn’t twin telepathy.” He grits out. “It’s just Adrien knowing when he’s making bad decisions.”

“I think he just wanted to stop the fight from happening…  _ Which,  _ unless you take a deep breath, will definitely happen.” Nathaniel hits their shoulders together. “You don’t want to cause an akuma, do you?”

On the other side of the bench, he watches Nino flinch out of the corner of his eye. His friend freezes. “I didn’t mean it like that, Nino.”

“No, I know, I…” Nino stares down at his hands. They’ve started to tremble, and he tries to push to his feet.

Reaching over, Felix places a hand on his thigh and clears his throat. “Tell me about this…  _ KIDS  _ thing. You and Marinette seemed invested, but I’ve never heard about it before. And it sounds like it’s made for the Chamack kid more than our age group.”

Taking a deep, ragged breath, Nino flashes a shaky smile. “First off, it’s  _ KIDZ.  _ With a Z. It’s a very important distinction.”

“Is that the one contest everyone was talking about last year? The meteorologist one?” Nathaniel rubs at the back of his neck with a laugh. “I don’t watch a lot of TV.” 

Nino gives Nathaniel a long look. “Meteorologist? Really?”

“What? That’s what it’s called.” When he notices the two of them staring at him, he takes a deep breath to try and hide the blush growing. “It’s what they’re  _ called.” _

“Nobody wants to win a  _ meteorologist  _ contest. You clearly don’t have an eye for business.” Felix sniffs dramatically to get a laugh out of both boys—oh,  _ mon Dieu,  _ is Felix becoming Adrien? He really doesn’t want to become a desperate people-pleaser. “It was probably advertised as a weather girl contest. It sounds significantly more…  _ Attractive  _ to the demographic it wants.”

“Yeah, actually. Guess Fe—Can I call you that?” Silenced by his death glare, Nino shifts to focus all of his attention on Nathaniel. “Guess  _ Felix  _ must be good at business.”

“I  _ am  _ the heir to the GABRIEL brand. I would hope I have a good head for the business.” 

“The future Gabriel Agreste, everybody.” 

“Gross,” Felix and Nino say at the same time.

Nino pauses. “Not the reaction I was expecting from you. Your bro defends your old man every time I diss him… Er, not that I would diss him a lot. That’d be wrong of me, and I’m, like, a complete saint.”

“Evidently.” He leans back against the park bench, seeking out his brother again. This time around, Vincent commands him to look angrier, and only the slightest tremble of his lip reveals how reluctantly Adrien makes the appropriate facial reaction. “Gabriel will also be the reason you won’t be able to pull off your KIDS thing. Unless, of course, I get the full details and create some fake event he has to go to.”

“You’d be willing to do that?”

Nathaniel lets out a low whistle. “Who would have thought you were the rebel in the family? A  _ rebel  _ Gabriel Agreste?”

“Better than a male Mary Jane Watson,” he counters. Felix pauses before cocking his head, pretending to think over his choices. “I wonder who’s your Spider-Man? Ladybug? Chat Noir?  _ Le Paon?” _

“Shut up!” splutters Nathaniel, hiding his face in his hands. He smirks. Every time Felix gets a chance to look at Nathaniel’s sketchbook, a new drawing of Le Paon adds to the growing collection. Despite his insistence it comes as an observation of  _ form,  _ Felix can’t hide the fact he enjoys Nathaniel’s little…  _ Crush  _ on Le Paon. It makes him smile—Because, of course, it’s humorous. He can already imagine the way Duusu would take that comment, and he refuses to acknowledge that side of the story.

Nino makes a face. “You like  _ Le Paon?” _

“Not like  _ that—” _

“Personally, have you seen the ass on Chat Noir?” Nino says casually, and Felix tries not to gag. The other boy sighs. “He came to visit me after I got akumatized just to… Hang out, I guess. Make sure I didn’t feel too bad. And  _ damn.” _

“He came to  _ visit  _ you?” Nathaniel shifts closer to Nino, already seeking out the story. Pausing, he mulls over the story in his head. Considering Nino remains silent with Alya, someone he obviously cares for, he doubts they’ll get too many details. Besides, Felix didn’t notice Adrien sneaking out after their birthday. He got too caught up in that  _ scarf…  _ the damned scarf which came from... __

His eyes find her from across the park. Marinette giggles at something Chamack’s kid says before scooping up the little girl. Two girls with an eerie resemblance to Alya flock around their legs. One of them points at the carousel, and the other nods. Alya makes a big show of digging around in her pockets for change, pulling out nothing, but Marinette waves them off and opens her purse.

Then, Nathaniel clears his throat. “Okay, wait, so we both had to expose ourselves, so it’s only fair…”

“Who has the better ass: Le Paon or Chat Noir?” 

Felix chokes.

-

“Merry-go-round! Merry-go-round! Merry-go-round!” the three little girls chant, voices getting louder and louder. Alya presses a hand over her mouth, obviously trying not to laugh, and Marinette nudges her.

Then, she sighs. “We’ve already been around it once, Manon. Surely you want to do something else at the park?”

“We all know what  _ Marinette  _ wants to do,” Alya drones under her breath. When Marinette whips her head around to give her a sharp look, the other girl shrugs and plays naive. She glances over at Nino, Felix, and Nathaniel, and Alya lets out a cackle. “Girl, you  _ know  _ they can’t hear me from over there!”

“Ew, gross, do you like one of them?” Ella announces.

Etta squeals. “Which one?”

“Um, I would know! Marinette’s  _ my  _ babysitter after all!” Manon crosses her arms, angry.

With a laugh, Marinette picks up Manon to interrupt the brewing fight. Hopefully, it’s also enough to get them off  _ this  _ topic. She can feel her face starting to heat up, and she doesn’t want to deal with  _ that  _ right now. “Okay, okay, deep breaths, girls. How about we do another round of the carousel?”

“Wait, ‘Nette.” Alya grabs her arm. “Look.”

Over at the fountain, Vincent lowers the camera slowly and furrows his brow. Adrien raises himself into a more comfortable sitting position, cocking his head slightly. He almost reminds her of…  _ No, don’t think like that.  _ Chat Noir and Adrien are  _ very  _ different people! The very idea they could have any similarities? No. No, that’s completely outlandish because Chat Noir is brash and bold, and Adrien is shy and sweet, and… Yeah.

Then, the photographer’s voice cuts across the park. He has a way of speaking too loudly; Marinette can’t even imagine the stress on his throat. “We need more  _ energy  _ from you! More romance! More… Oh, we need a  _ girl!  _ Where did those girls from before go? You, Monsieur Agreste, go… Go get them.”

Adrien starts to get up, and the man clicks his tongue. “Not you. The other Monsieur Agreste.”

Felix grumbles before he starts making his way over to them.

Marinette spins and almost throws Manon out of her arms by accident. She bundles her closer to her chest. “Alya, did you  _ hear  _ that?” 

“Of course I did. This is your  _ chance!”  _

“Sorry to interrupt whatever…  _ This  _ is,” Felix says as he approaches. Subtly, he slides away from the little girls who approach him.

Not one to be deterred, Etta reaches up and tugs on his tie. It takes a few seconds for Marinette to recognize the light blue. That’s  _ her  _ tie (well, the tie she wants to be hers. When Adrien said the scarf came from their father earlier that week, how could she ever argue against him? He wanted it to be true, and she’s sure she can give him gifts later on). Marinette presses a hand against her face to try and hide the heat; she doesn’t want to out her lie right now.

Ella joins her sister just as Felix tries to detangle himself. “You look pretty!”

“Gee, thanks. I always await the praise of toddlers.” He grabs Etta’s hand and places it back at her side. He sighs. “Do I want to know why your hand feels so grubby? Or does that just come with being four?”

“Hey! I’m  _ six!”  _ Etta whines, folding her arms over her chest.

Ella nods. “I’m six too! We’re twins! That means—”

“I assure you,” Felix says over Alya’s laughter, “that I know what it means to be a twin. Despite my wishes, I understand what it means to be a twin. Speaking of, I have to ask a favor on his behalf. Since, apparently, my only purpose here is to act as a slave to Vincent.”

“What do you need?” Alya reaches over and drags Etta back by her hood.

He eyes her with suspicion. “Vincent wants an extra to pose with Adrien—”

“Marinette can!” she responds.

Manon flips around in her arms and takes in Marinette. She squeals. “Wait, is that boy your boyfriend?”

“No!” she splutters. Felix stares at her with a raised eyebrow, and Marinette quickly adds to the sentiment. “Well, like, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if we were dating, but we’re  _ not,  _ and I don’t  _ want  _ that, but it’s not because of him because he’s sweet and—”

“I’d stop before you dig yourself a deeper hole,” Felix says, amusement thick in his voice.

She nods. “Yep. Shutting up now.”

“Go be an extra with your  _ not  _ boyfriend. I can handle the little gremlins on the carousel.” Alya pauses before glancing over to the bench. Making eye contact with someone, she hooks a finger at them and gestures them closer. With a pout, she tries again, and when a smile starts to form, Marinette knows she succeeded. “Looks like I can get my own Prince Charming to save the day. So you go be Prince Charming for Adrien.”

“Are you sure? Manon can be a little,” she drops her voice to a whisper, “much.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed…” Alya pulls Manon out of Marinette’s hands before unceremoniously dropping her on the ground. Clapping her hands together, she lets out a loud yell. “Well, my little princesses, let’s head out! We got to go mount our steeds to get to the magical kingdom!”

“What did I just get myself into?” Nino asks as he strolls up, hands deep in his pockets.

Ella gasps. “Alya, is that  _ your  _ boyfriend?”

“Not yet, he isn’t!” Alya winks.

Nino pulls his hat over his face, hiding the blush. Marinette giggles and nudges him slightly. He reaches over and bops her on the nose. “Not a word, ‘Nette. I’m ninety-percent sure we haven’t made fun of you for your little crush on  _ you-know-who.” _

“Glad we got this all worked out. Shall we?” Felix deadpans, and Marinette nods, quickly following after him. Adrien’s face lights up when he sees the two of them, and the photographer lets out a loud cackle. Marinette smiles down at her shoes, trying to hide her absolute glee.

Then, something wet lands on her head. She brushes a hand over her head and inspects it. “Rain?”

_ “Snow.” _

“There’s no way it’s snow. It’s too…” But as Marinette cranes her head upwards, she watches a figure dart through the clouds. Ice springs from her, and her heart starts to sink in her chest. 

“Akuma,” Felix grimly finishes for her.

-

“Duusu, feathers flared,” Felix whispers in the dark of the alley. He stammered out an apology to Nathaniel before he rushed off, and Adrien hadn’t bothered trying to check in with him. It hardly mattered; he’d see Chat Noir soon enough. 

The warmth rushes over him, and Felix feels Duusu beating furiously in his brooch. He curls a gloved hand over the brooch to try and reassure him. Why today is any different is beyond him— _ Oh. _

Slowly, blue fur starts to creep out beneath the sleeves of his coat, and the same fur pushes out and over his boots, making them wintery this time around. His pants grow thicker, somehow remaining flexible. Around his neck, the brooch shifts until it sits atop a thick bundle of a light blue scarf. 

“I didn’t realize Le Paon had a winter line,” he laughs to himself. Duusu gives off a warm glow in his brooch, and he pushes to his feet. As he pulls out his fan, he starts to head out to the middle of the park. It seems natural he’d meet up with Chat Noir there. The last thing he expected, though, is to find Ladybug in front of the frozen carousel.

Flying over to her, he takes a moment to admire her costume. She dons a long red coat complete with the usual spots, black buttons securing it over the usual costume. The yo-yo sits on the sash helping to tie the coat shut. Atop her head, she wears a red beanie with twin plaits sitting tightly on her shoulders. “I see you’re dressed for success as well.”

“I didn’t know we could do that,” Ladybug says absently. She keeps her eyes trained on the people on the inside. Their mouths move within the ice cage, their breath billowing out, but he can’t make out any of their words. 

He sighs. “I don’t think you’ll be able to get them out unless we  _ Cataclysm  _ the ice—”

“That seems dumb.” Chat Noir slides in between them, throwing his arms around both of their shoulders. He makes a happy noise deep in his throat before focusing again. “Cataclysm has been a little…  _ Wonky  _ lately, and I don’t want to hurt any civilians inside. You saw it, milady, when we were fighting the Bubbler.”

“That’s true,” she muses.

He nods. “And there’s little kids in there. Also, may I say you look absolutely  _ enchanting  _ today?”

“You can, but it doesn’t quite seem like the time.” Ladybug glances over at him. Chat Noir didn’t quite get an upgrade in any sense of the term, but over his shoulders, he wears a leather jacket now. It seems like a… Small change, but he also wouldn’t be shocked if Adrien was more concerned with looking cool than being warm. “We have to get them out, though. I’m worried about leaving any citizen in these conditions.”

“Okay, so…” Le Paon finds a solution, but he hesitates on saying it. He knows if they split up the team, they’ll split up with Chat Noir and Ladybug on one side, and he’ll be stuck running rescue committee. While he doesn’t  _ mind  _ the citizens, per se, he knows that’s not where he’d succeed the most.

Ladybug nods. “Two of us go find the akuma, and someone stays around helping people out. Because… I’m not willing to test the limits of the Miraculous Ladybug. I know that it heals injuries, but—”

The rest of the sentence goes unspoken. She’s not willing to test it to see if it’ll raise the dead. 

Chat Noir flicks his tail. “Well, I feel like it’s pretty obvious how we should split up. You two go find the akuma, and I’ll go—”

“What?” both of them say at the same time.

He nods, offering his best shit-eating smile. “C’mon. You guys are all geared up for a blizzard, and I’m not. I think our  _ kwamis  _ are giving us a sign! And I’m a little more nimble getting around with my weapon.”

“But—”

“He’s right,” Le Paon interrupts. He knows why Ladybug wants to keep him close at hand; he also knows Adrien wouldn’t offer to sit on the bench unless he genuinely believed in it. “So, where do we think the akuma would be?”

“That’s… That’s easy.” Ladybug’s eyes don’t leave Chat, and he just shrugs in response. She ducks her head and clears her throat, trying to focus once more. “Only one person got so publicly wronged today. If I was Hawkmoth, she’d be the person I would gravitate towards. He goes for the  _ strongest  _ emotions, not just strong.”

“And that is…?” Le Paon prompts.

She sighs. “Aurore Beaureal from the weather girl competition. Everyone’s been talking about how it’s rigged. If I just lost my opportunity to be on television, I’d be upset enough to get akumatized. Especially if I heard rumors I never even had a shot at it.”

“Well, it sounds like we have a go-plan then. You guys better start heading over to KIDZ.” Chat Noir nudges both of them affectionately. Then, he stretches out his baton and lunges to the top of the carousel. He waves at someone on the inside, mouthing something he doesn’t understand, before taking off into the slick streets.

Le Paon adjusts his grip on his fans. “I have no clue where KIDS is.”

“KIDZ,” she corrects. Then, Ladybug backs up and makes a face. Before he can question her, she takes a deep breath and unclips her yo-yo. “Sorry. It’s hard seeing everyone in… In  _ dire  _ situations. Little kids who need to get saved. And knowing that I can’t do anything about it because I just got here too late.”

“That’s a rather bleak way of looking at it.” As Ladybug takes off, he follows suit easily. Chat Noir did have a point. While the two of them have grown more comfortable with slingshotting themselves around Paris, when it comes to patrol, Chat Noir has yet to lose any of their races. When it comes to the physical prowess element of it, he’s succeeded in every way. 

When it comes to the supernatural powers, though, Chat Noir is slowly starting to lose ground. If he’s not willing to even try Cataclysm, if he’s convinced it’s faulty in some way, he’s going to be hesitant to use it. They’ll have to work on it during patrols; there’s no way it’s so broken it can’t be used. Duusu would never allow that; he has to work under the assumption Chat’s kwami is the same way.

Ladybug shrugs. “We’re superheroes! Shouldn’t we be able to save everyone?”

“Shouldn’t we just try to save whoever we can?” he counters.

She laughs. “I’m not sure that’s a good tagline. The Miraculous Team, saving whoever they can get to first.”

“That’s not how we’d  _ phrase  _ it—”

“That’s what it’d mean.”

-

Chat Noir knows the way his reputation starts to blossom. As he grew up, Gabriel made a game of tracking his popularity and his name. He knows how to monitor social media, and the Ladyblog provides the opinion of the public. As anonymous people debated roles amongst the  _ Miraculous Team  _ (Alya christened them that on one of her posts, and it picked up steam).

Everyone agrees Ladybug and Le Paon serve as leaders of the team, tacticians. They seek out problems and solutions. When they approached him with the idea of an alarm system in schools, it hadn’t even occurred to him they needed an additional layer of protection. He just… Assumed it’d work out for the best.

And everyone seems to agree Chat gets to deal with people because he can crack jokes. He’s the comic relief. He keeps everyone from taking themselves too seriously. In the end, though, Chat could never stop an akuma on his own. The Ladyblog blew up with a discussion on whether Le Paon and Ladybug needed the Miraculous Team (meaning whether or not they needed Chat). They might be able to handle an akuma by themselves, but he— 

As he lands on top of a car, Chat stabs his baton through the ice beside him. Then, he flips himself over and raps on the window of the driver’s side. “Free taxi service at  _ your  _ service.”

The window rolls down, revealing a somewhat familiar face. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know why she targeted my car specifically; this is so embarrassing.”

“It’s fine. We can’t help supervillains.” Chat bows and then offers a hand to Miss Bustier. 

It’s odd to see her outside of school. She dresses differently when she doesn’t need to set an example for students. With her red hair down, she looks a lot younger than he thought. Instead of a white blazer, she replaced it with a jumper. He tears his gaze away; he  _ knew  _ teachers had lives outside of school, but on TVs, they don’t encounter them outside.

As she takes it, he surveys the damage. She  _ does  _ pose an interesting point. While most of the cars appear to have made it out of the akuma’s ice storm, Miss Bustier practically has a wall around it. Even if she turned the heat up on full blast, he doubts she’d be able to avoid hypothermia. He’ll take her to the coffee shop nearby; that way, she can sit down and avoid the bitter cold. 

The second she emerges and balances on top of a sheet of ice, she stares at him. “Oh, wow. You’re… Younger than I thought. I could… I could be teaching you, couldn’t I?”

“Where do you teach?” he asks in lieu of answering. While Chat knows he can’t lie the best, he knows how to deflect well enough. Living in the Agreste household came with a certain level of tricks. Besides, Felix and him like to split their skill set in half. If Adrien’s distractions fail, then Felix takes over with an outright lie. Then, it sounds more believable since Adrien spent so much time floundering.

Miss Bustier takes a second to compose herself. Then, when Chat crouches down, she goes red. “N-no, I can’t… That seems inappropriate, and I don’t want—”

“You’re okay! I promise!” He waits a few seconds, and then Miss Bustier clambers onto his back. With a wide grin, he adjusts her weight as he reaches for his baton. Then, he takes a deep breath. “So, you never answered the question. What school?”

“Francoise Dupont,” she says after a long second.

As they take into the air, she lets out a screech and buries her face into his shoulder. Then, his teacher realizes where she is, and she pushes away from him. “I’m s-sorry! This is just… I’m not…”

“It’s just like an airplane.” Hesitating, Chat then attempts to make airplane noises. While they don’t seem to work very well, it inspires a laugh out of her. He calls upon that stupid deep rumbling Plagg gave him, and after Miss Bustier jolts with surprise, her laugh eases out of hysteria to something a little more collected.

While her voice still wavers, she manages to get it out. “Are you purring?”

“Like an airplane!” He glances at her for a moment to stick out his tongue, cheerful and carefree. Even without looking down, he bounds across the ice with ease. In a way, it feels like he was  _ meant  _ to be Chat Noir all along. The second he thinks that, he can hear Plagg scoff in the back of his head.

As they reach the coffee shop, he sets her down. “It was good meeting you, Miss…?”

“Caline! Caline Bustier!” she hurries to say, offering her hand. He shakes it as gently as he can; the claws really cause problems for him. 

Before he bounces off, something crackles to life overhead. As he pushes her to the doors, Chat manages to move right as an icicle tries to split him in half. Then, he catches the screen which started its sporadic song of static. Sliding across the ice as nimbly as he can manage, he reaches the screen in a shop window. 

On screen, someone he doesn’t recognize offers a toothy smile. It’s an… Interesting look. Hawkmoth really Googled supervillains and slapped them over whoever he akumatized, didn’t he? As he tries to take in as much as he possibly can, he glances down the way. While he can’t make out many screens from this vantage point, he has a feeling she found a way to project this to every screen.

It means Le Paon and Ladybug can see it, but they already intended to go to the studio. They might be several steps ahead from what Hawkmoth expected! They’re just… What was it again? Not bad for a flake, a daredevil, and a thief.

With a practiced gesture, the akuma waves. “Well,  _ hello there,  _ viewers.  _ Especially  _ to a specific half million. I’ve changed the forecast up. On this cool September day, Mother Nature changed her plans. We’re skipping ahead, straight to winter break! Prepare for the worst weather in  _ history…  _ And I, Stormy Weather, will be here to report on all of it!”

As she steps back, she twirls the parasol. He narrows his eyes. Maybe… Maybe the akuma settled there? He reaches for his baton, opening it up to the calling function. It takes two rings for Le Paon to pick up.

As Chat tries to say something, he gets a hiss instead.  _ “Not now.” _

And the call drops.

-

“Doesn’t that seem a little harsh?” Ladybug gets out as she breaks the ice seal on the door to the studio. While they both attempted to leap up a few floors and enter through a window, a strong gust of wind sent them scrambling again. This way, Le Paon can cling to a streetlight as she chops away with her yo-yo. Inside, she can sense Tikki’s discontentedness at the brutality of each strike. 

Le Paon makes a noise in the back of his throat. As he tries to rush towards the floors like Ladybug, he almost wipes out. Inside, she turned the floors into a new ice rink.  _ Great.  _ Remind Ladybug to not tick off anyone who’s winter-themed again. She much prefers being blazing hot to freezing cold.

Then, as he manages to catch himself against the wall, he glowers at her once more. “Look, do we have time to entertain him? She’s proving to be a little more  _ difficult  _ than anticipated.”

“What if it was something important?” As she glances up, something shifts underneath her feet. Ladybug manages to catch the glint of silver right as the bottoms of her boots change once more. She claps her hands together. “Well,  _ thank you!” _

Tikki buzzes in the back of her head, pleased.

With her newly-made skates, Ladybug bursts forward and waits for Le Paon to finish his own. “I didn’t know we could do that.”

“They’re full of surprises!” Ladybug chirps. Tikki will be getting the whole  _ bakery  _ at this point. When she first transformed, complete with a coat and actual winter gear, she wanted to hug her kwami. 

He points at the ceiling. “You saw the recording. Aren’t most studios upstairs?”

“That’s assuming akumas need to follow those rules. What if her powers just allow her to broadcast?” As she hums, trying to think through it, she can’t find any other lead. She nods finally and starts off towards the stairwell. Le Paon trails behind her; he doesn’t know the layout of the building as well as Ladybug. Every once and a while, she gets to babysit  _ here.  _ It might be some of the coolest experiences of her life. “I hope we never encountered a broadcasting akuma.”

“That’s an odd one to be afraid of. Who would’ve known Ladybug was so  _ outdated  _ when it came to technology?” Le Paon quips behind her.

She glances at him, trying to decipher whether or not he meant it as a joke or a jab. With Chat Noir, she never doubts his comments. He praises her incessantly, and while she spends a little too much time blushing, it never fails to make her confidence flourish. “Well… I guess I’m just thinking of  _ Incredibles 2.” _

“What?” He blinks at her.

As she grinds to a stop in front of the door to the stairwell, Ladybug gapes at him. “What do you mean? Have you  _ not  _ seen it? It was a huge movie! I went at least three times—”

“You should never see a movie more than once,” he says.

She stops before laughing. “You seem like someone who watches artsy films. Silent films, maybe.”

“There’s nothing wrong with silent films; they convey everything without incessant blabber.” Before he can continue on about films Ladybug never intends to watch, she opens the door to the stairwell and gestures for Le Paon to go in. As the two of them enter, the skates shift back to boots… Because snow piles high on the steps until it’s impossible to tell where one step starts and one ends.

And then, the light flickers out.

“This is going great,” Le Paon mutters. “This is almost just as good as Bubble Boy last time around.”

“Maybe we need to stop splitting up,” she muses, more to herself than him. While she doesn’t want to risk anyone’s lives, while she doesn’t want to have anyone suffer just to make sure they score an easier victory, she misses Chat. Besides, she  _ knows  _ he told her he has night vision on patrol, so he might’ve been the best one to stick around. 

As he hums, he takes a deep breath. “Then you will not love this idea.”

“What?” She turns to the sound of his voice. Yet, no light seeps into the stairwell. With no windows and only the overhead lights which went dark, she can’t even make out the outline of Le Paon. 

Something flutters by her face… Maybe one of his fans? “I think we  _ need  _ to split up. Can you… Face the akuma by yourself? At least briefly. Because I can’t imagine stumbling around in the dark with snow and ice all around will end well for either of us.”

“By  _ myself?”  _ She laughs nervously but shakes her head vigorously. “Le Paon, she might be the most challenging we’ve seen  _ yet.  _ And I wouldn’t have been able to take on Fluffy or, or,  _ Rocky  _ by myself.”

“It’ll be short. Just keep her distracted, and keep her there.” He pauses. “What would Chat say? To encourage you to actually do this? Just pretend that I’m Chat.”

“I don’t think he would send me off on my own.” Still, as the two of them stand there in the darkness, she  _ could  _ pretend he was Chat Noir. They have remarkably similar voices. But where Chat holds bounces and leaps and trembles in his voice, making every second feel like an adventure, a song, Le Paon polishes his until it belongs with talk show hosts and news reporters and people who need to keep a good public face. (And, not for the first time, she wonders about them as people in their real life.)

Then, with a voice more like a breath, Le Paon steps forward.  _ “Pathfinder.” _

The golden trail bursts the room into golden light, and as it travels up the steps, illuminating the path she needs to take to Stormy Weather, Le Paon offers a smirk. “You just need to last ten minutes. Then, we’ll be refueled enough to join you.”

“Okay… Okay, I’ve got this.” And maybe, if Ladybug keeps saying it to herself, she’ll actually grow to believe it.

-

“I’m shocked you haven’t taken out your phone,” Nino murmurs. As time goes on, he keeps pressing deeper into Alya’s side. She tries to ignore it as they huddle under the canopy of the carousel. Both of them watch the three little ones ducking and weaving between the rows of animals. None of them grasp the severity of the situation, and she won’t break that haze of innocence still sitting there.

She knocks their knees together, shuddering as her bare thigh touches the silkiness of his shorts. Since the last beams of summer start to fade out of existence, she resists wearing long pants. Obviously, Alya will need to change that idea. She feels as if she’s freezing right now, and she gave up her flannel to Etta, who only wore a sundress. “I don’t think anyone wants to see this. I’m sure there are many more tragic stories going on… Nobody expected a winter akuma on the last warm day.”

“Still… It’s reporting.” Out of the corner of her eye, she can see blue starts to dust Nino’s lips. Without giving a second to doubt, she grabs his arm and grabs it over her shoulders. He laughs under his breath as she burrows into him. “Ironically, the tank top and shorts combo is really hot.”

“I’d disagree,” she teases lightly. 

They fall into a comfortable silence to observe the three again. Now, Ella tries to clamber on one of the horses, but she isn’t quite tall enough. While all three of them shiver and she can hear their teeth chattering in their shrieks and stories, Nino said something about living in a snow globe. Then, they all debated whether the carousel served as a castle and who would be queen, who would be a princess. 

And then, they started make-believing  _ Frozen,  _ and Alya lost the train of thought. 

When he speaks again, she feels his voice first. A deep rumbling in his chest, vibrating through her. They sit too close; there’s no space in between the two of them. “About the interview… You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” The argument starts to bloom in their fogged breaths. When she realizes how harsh she speaks, Alya swallows and tries to rephrase. “Everyone knows you were the Bubbler.”

“That’s not true.” He rubs at her arm, trying to bring feeling back there. “Our  _ classmates  _ do, but… We’re kinda small in terms of the world. And Paris. And even in the school district. Nobody wants to spread that around, and… Why don’t you interview Ivan?”

“I asked all of the former akuma victims.” She snorts. All three of them, she supposes. “Nobody wants to do it, but I think there’s something… There’s a warning there.”

“A warning?” His hand stutters to a stop.

She reaches up and encloses his frozen fingers in hers, even though the motion comes clunky and unsure. “How did it feel? How can you ward off an akuma? There’s… If you know it’s coming, maybe you can stop yourself from being an akuma. Then, you wouldn’t have to face all of the heartbreak that comes next.”

“It’s the heartbreak that starts it.”

“What?” She shifts to look at him, but he looks forward without glancing at her.

As he studies the three of them, something sad writes itself across his face. “Because… Hawkmoth promises to make it whole again. And all of that which broke you, because you’re broken, because otherwise, you wouldn’t be akumatized, and he promises to fix it. And it’s an easy fix. It’s not time. It’s not… It’s not graduating and running away and never looking back. It’s right now, it’s here, and it makes  _ sense  _ at the time. And then, looking back… Did you mean it? What you said? Because I remember it, and I… I didn’t think I felt like that, but I keep thinking about it and maybe I meant it. Maybe I’m a bad person, maybe—”

She doesn’t know what to say as he hiccups on his next word. As he curls into himself, practically shoving Alya away, she lets him. She struggles to find what to say. She just stares at him as he stares down at his hands, heaving and near tears and…

“You’re a good person, Nino.” She scoots back until she can stare at him head on without twisting, without contorting herself. Then, she offers her pinky. “Promise.”

“I…” It takes him a few seconds, but she gives him the time as he steadies himself again. As he lifts his head, he clears his throat and links their pinkies together. “I still won’t do your interview.”

“Maybe Aurore will then.” She smiles at him as gently as possible. And then, an icicle clatters on top of the carousel, and all of them go dead silent.

Then, Ella and Etta and Manon rush over to them and bury themselves in them. For the first, fear hangs in the air. She glances at Nino, but the words die on the tip of her tongue. 

He forces a smile. “Hey, don’t tell me you’re losing the faith. Isn’t Ladybug, like, your bestie?” 

“If she is, she needs to hurry it up.”

-

“DUCK!”

Le Paon falls to his knees just in time. A fire extinguisher sails over his head and crashes into the door. Pushing into a roll, he manages to dodge the next attack—a bolt of lightning races close enough the heat invades all of his senses. As he gets to his feet, he manages to find Ladybug standing against one of the pillars of the billboards. 

He hurries to her side, and she meets him halfway as another bolt of lightning threatens to take both of them out. “I told you!”

“You’re not seriously telling me ‘ _ I told you so’ _ after I had to fend off a supervillain  _ by myself,”  _ she grumbles. 

Le Paon groans. “But I was right.”

“Not… Well…” She grunts and swats at him. As he snorts at her immaturity, the akuma goes higher in the sky. With her parasol underneath her, generating a torpedo that keeps her afloat, he cocks his head. Ladybug follows the gesture. “I think that’s the akuma too… Er, the akumatized object? Is the butterfly the akuma or is the person…?”

“I don’t think semantics is the issue right now,” he hisses at her.

Stormy Weather cackles, and the sky rumbles with thunder and then floods a stunning white with lightning. “You airheads! You fell right into my trap!”

“Well, that’s always a good sign.”

As Ladybug yanks out her yo-yo, Stormy Weather points the tip of the parasol at her. A thick gust of wind barrels towards them, complete with hail. She grabs Le Paon’s wrist before yanking both of them on top of a billboard. As the two of them sail upwards, he readies his own fans. Plucking one of the feathers out as a dart, he tries to figure out where to hit.

She glances at him. “Cover me.”

“With what?” He flails his fans around. “These don’t exactly function as a shield!”

“Well—” The rest of the argument goes unheard as the wind sends her flying off. He barely manages to keep his own balance by using the fans as a counterbalance. While they can’t send the same amount of wind back, they can at least keep the wind from being too overbearing. 

A purple butterfly appears on Stormy Weather’s face, and she blinks rapidly. The wind and hail die down, but she makes no move. Then, when she speaks again, her voice comes out distorted and affected—it no longer belongs to her. He’s using the akumatized victim as a puppet. 

_ “How did you get the brooch?”  _ She opens her parasol and uses it to close the distance between the two of them. She cocks her head, and her eyes glaze over.  _ “Where exactly did you find it? How did you steal it?” _

“Where did you think you hid it? Because it wasn’t a great hiding spot.” He snorts and sends a dart at her parasol. She expands it and lets it clatter to the ground. 

Because he found it in their attic with a receipt from a garage sale. While he can’t remember a lot about their mother, he remembered she obsessed over those random trinkets found there. He had to shuffle through piles and piles of silver rings to find the brooch. Why she collected random objects… Well, he would never be able to find a good explanation for that one. 

And it wasn’t as if she was around to ask.

Stormy Weather wrinkles her nose.  _ “How did you steal it?” _

“I already answered you.” At this point, he wants to hit her with one of the fans. Still, he sends dart after dart. “Maybe don’t be so careless to lose it at a garage sale.”

There. If Hawkmoth chooses to investigate it, he will struggle to find any real details about it. The receipt didn’t even have any details about the brooch. His mother just folded the brooch inside of it, and he felt the clunkiness of the object. When he pinned it to his tie out of impulse, he wasn’t expecting a kwami to burst outwards.

She pauses.

Stormy Weather breaks out laughing. 

A yo-yo darts out and wraps around her ankle. As she starts to crash towards the ground, Ladybug appears in the sky. On one of the wires threading the sky, she wraps a towel to send herself soaring towards Stormy Weather. Before the girl can recover, her boots crash into her back and send Stormy Weather to the ground. Ladybug snatches up the parasol as she hits the ground and snaps it over her knee. 

“No more evildoing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!” She tugs on her yo-yo string and captures the akuma. Then, she grabs the towel and tosses it into the air in one fluid motion.  _ “Miraculous Ladybug!” _

“You’re getting good at that,” he comments, staring at the girl where Stormy Weather used to be lying. She rubs at her back even though he knows any physical damage will have gone away. For a second, they could speak with Hawkmoth directly. Hawkmoth controls all lines of communication; he will always be able to contact them through his akumas if the desire overcame him. They didn’t have the same privilege. “Have you been practicing?”

“Way to cover me,” she says after a moment. Then, Ladybug walks to the edge of the roof and looks down at the streets. “The snow and ice’s melting. We should go find Chat…  _ Oh!  _ We can call him.”

“You’re not mad about me not covering you. It was physically impossible,” he snorts. As he pulls his fan in front of his face, he pulls a specific feather, and a screen appears amongst the feathers.

She scowls as she twists her yo-yo before taking a deep breath to compose herself. “I just… It didn’t feel like a team. It felt like a relay race, and we all took turns going up against the supervillain.”

“Isn’t a relay race completed by a  _ relay team?”  _ When she refuses to look at him, he smirks. He won that argument…

But somehow, it didn’t feel like winning.

-

They should pack up the photo shoot, but no Parisian business put out any regulations when it came to akuma attacks. In fact, he knows none of the companies he works through will put out guidelines until the government forces it… And since this issue appears to be contained in Paris, they all wait for Mayor Bourgeoise to make the final call (and he doubts he will put out any guidelines).

The spray of the fountain assaults his bare forearms, and each droplet feels like an icicle pressing into his skin, deeper and deeper. Yet, while he wants to burrow into this sweatshirt, he already rolled up the sleeves according to what Vincent requested. When he poses, he holds himself rigidly to keep from shivering.

And then, Adrien beams in the direction of the camera.  _ Click. _

He surveys the park, allowing his mind to wander. Nathaniel got a call from his parents, and while he stayed put during the akuma attack due to the horrible street conditions, he left earlier. Alya ushered the twins back home the second they could, and she made a comment about sitting in front of the oven until the cold finally went away even though the Miraculous Ladybug cleared away any signs of hypothermia.

_ (“It’s, like, a bone-deep kind of cold. I’m not really cold, logically, but logic isn’t running the show,” Alya told Marinette as she got ready to leave. The other girl blinked before nodding a little. With one long hug, Alya finally let her go and started to walk back in the direction of her apartment.) _

Marinette needed to head home too. Nadja Chamack called, looking for her daughter, and he could make out bits of the conversation the woman screamed into the phone. Evidently, Marinette didn’t pick up her phone at all during the akuma attack. While she had a good reason—her phone died soon after it got so cold, and she needed to trudge to the coffee shop to plug it in—Nadja wanted to see her daughter desperately.

_ (“Oh, um, I’m s-sorry!” she got out. _

_ Adrien smiled, confused. “You don’t have to stay.” _

_ “I know, but…” She glanced around before lowering her voice. “It just seems lonely to do this. We’re… Uh, since obviously, KIDZ didn’t go well today… We’re having a marathon tomorrow at my house. If you wanna join. I think Nino said, well, Nino wants to ask Felix about it, but… Yeah. If you wanna come. You don’t have to! But!” _

_ “If I can come, I will.” His grin grew larger, more genuine. Then… _

Click.)

Now, only Felix and Nino remain by his side. ‘By his side’ might be a little loose of a definition though. Nino sits on the same bench, playing on his phone. Probably  _ Ultimate Mech Strike III.  _ Something wistful plays on Adrien’s face, and Vincent shouts. He swallows it down and pretends to be the most popular boy in school, the one with the football scholarship or whatever the photographer looks for.

And Felix shouts into his phone, probably at Nathalie, probably about being forced to finish the photo shoot despite other issues. ‘Shout’ might also be too loose of a definition. Nobody shouts in the family beside Adrien. They argue with pursed lips, spat words, and tight phrasing. Their grammar becomes harsh, strict, no room to move around. They don’t fight with fire in the Agreste household; everyone fights with ice. They freeze out everyone and turn everyone cold until you’re standing barefoot in the snow, wondering what happened.

_ “Yes!”  _ Vincent claps behind his camera. “Perfection! Hold that pose!”

_ Click.  _

_ Click. _

_ Click. _

-

Marinette managed to convince her parents to give up the living room for most of the night, and most of their parents agreed to let them stay until midnight. While some guilt eats at her about the Agrestes’ situation, Felix insists he will take any fall for it. However, he doesn’t think his father will. 

As she boots up the TV, she slides back to sit on the floor. Nino and her both assembled pillows and blankets around their feet, and even though Alya gave them a strange look, the two of them used to do this when they were children. Bridgette always hogged the couch, and while they could make enough room for all three, Nino and Marinette always tended to get up and move around a ton.

Now, they just don’t have enough room on the couch. Nathaniel and Felix took the loveseat, but Felix put his laptop on one spot. Now, Nathaniel sits on the arm as he sketches absently. The end table beside the two of them holds a tray of cupcakes, twenty-four, all neatly decorated.

On the couch, Alya and Adrien share with easily enough room for one more person. Yet, when Marinette tried to offer it up, Nino sat down on the floor. So, she sat down on the floor too. Neither of them wanted to relegate the other to the floor, so they sat amongst the cushions just like the old times.

“Old times?” Alya says after a few seconds. She leans forward and speaks directly to Marinette. “So, you’ve known him since he was a child, right? Like, little Nino? Who was his celebrity crush back then?”

“‘Nette, don’t answer that,” Nino says.

Marinette pauses, glancing between the two of them. As she starts to play the first episode, she leans back. “I don’t know; there’s a lot to pick from.”

“Oh, is there?”

“I think you’re going to have to share,” Nino says after a second, getting to his feet. Marinette snorts before slapping her hand over her face. Adrien twists to stare at her, obviously delighted. Right as he’s about to say something, Nino plops down on top of Adrien. “They’re being mean to me, so I’m staying right here.”

“H-hey! Get off!” splutters Adrien, trying to worm out from underneath him.

Nino sprawls like a starfish, laughing. “Nope! Dude, you might be more comfortable than the couch! This was a good idea, thanks ‘Nette!”

“Felix!” he whines, reaching for his brother.

He scoots out of reach.

Nathaniel laughs and butts his shoulder. “You’re so cold. What is Adrien going to do?” 

“Suffer?” Felix suggests.

“Sunshine,” Alya says, propping herself up and cocking her head. After a few seconds, Adrien realizes she meant him and turns to watch her, still struggling under Nino’s weight. “You should stick to fencing. Wrestling officially isn’t your strong suit.”

“Is this wrestling?” Something shifts on Adrien’s face, and then he smiles. He pushes upwards, and Nino barks out a shout. Then, he grabs Adrien and drags him to the floor with him. Marinette squeals as she dodges them as they play-wrestle, Adrien wiggling out around him to climb on top. Then, Nino grabs his leg and sends him crashing to the ground with a squawk.

She climbs up to Alya’s side of the couch, and she grabs at her, pulling her close. As Alya sticks out her tongue behind her back, the boys remain completely oblivious. 

Felix snorts. “And who would’ve thought he’s a model? A member of the  _ highest  _ society?”

“Yeah, who would’ve thought that?” As Nathaniel sits on the arm of the chair, reaching for another cupcake, he passes it over to Felix. “C’mon,  _ high-class society.  _ Marinette’s parents’ bakery is well known.”

“You don’t have to feed me,” Felix mutters. Still, he takes the cupcake. Right as he starts to lift it to his mouth, Adrien manages to squirm out around Nino and kick at his hand. It smears frosting all over his chin, and Felix gawks at him. Then, he tosses the cupcake at Adrien’s face and grumbles, getting to his feet. “I’m disowning you.”

“You  _ love  _ me,” cooes Adrien.

Nino nods. “You’re a great model.”

And then he squashes the rest of the cupcake against Adrien’s forehead.

Marinette laughs. “I don’t think this is what my parents meant when they gave us the whole tray!”

“Girl, who are you fooling? We  _ both  _ know you made those.” Alya gestures over at the cupcakes. She decorated all of them in the colors she loves most—pink and black and white. She stuck cute little parasols into the cupcakes to symbolise Aurore, even though it might be a little insensitive. “You’re the absolutely sweetest…”

“Thank you—”

Alya shoves a cupcake against her cheek, and Marinette gags. As she hops off Alya’s lap, cupping her cheek instantly, she stares. “I… I trusted you!” 

“If the boys get to have fun, we get to have fun too.” Alya lunges to her feet and tries to reach the cupcake tray. Marinette’s eyes flit to it at the same time, and she dives. Then, her foot hooks against the table. Falling on top of the pile of Adrien and Nino, she hears them all laugh around her.

Adrien rolls off Nino and ends up right on top of her. As he props himself up on his elbows, inches away from her face, the laughter fades. His green eyes glimmer, mischievous and bright. Yet, a thin layer of sweat already settles on him from how vigorous the two of them have been tackling each other. With the sunlight dancing across the planes of his face, with his happiness spilling over and onto every feature of his face... “Oh! Hi, Marinette.”

“Hi, Adrien.” She knows her face must be bright red now. Blinking, she shifts slightly, and the moment breaks.

He goes to the complete opposite side and lies on his back. Nino hoots and climbs up next to Alya, who gave up on the cupcakes to instead watch  _ this.  _ Marinette slides back to the blankets and pillows, perching there to stare at the TV. If she just focuses on the show, without thinking about how Adrien makes her want to sing and dance and makes her feel the glory of Ladybug  _ every second of every day,  _ maybe her blush and her heart rate will both go down. 

Nino kicks her back gently. “So, maybe it’s time to start teasing you about  _ you-know-who.” _

“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” she repeats, and she grabs one of the blankets and yanks it over her head.

When she glances out, she catches curious looks from both Felix and Nathaniel and then dives even deeper. She’ll never leave now. She’ll stay in this blanket mound forever, and nobody will ever tease her or question her again.

-

“I’m pretty sure we have set times to be using the kitchen, Monsieur Agreste.” 

Felix glances away from the coffee maker, and he makes a face. “Nathalie, if you’re here to stop me from making coffee, you’re here a little too late. After the launch of the campaign insisting GABRIEL wouldn’t be wasteful, surely you wouldn’t insist I waste precious—”

“You can save the rest of the speech. I am not here to dissuade you from your unhealthy habits.” Nathalie instead walks over to the cabinet and pulls out a few mugs. As she examines them, she decides on two and places them both on the counter. Then, she settles back. “I presume you made enough to share.”

“Nobody makes enough for just one cup.” He grabs the nearest mug and holds it up to the light. “I never took you as someone quite so sentimental.”

“This has nothing to do with sentiment.” She runs her finger over the rim of the other mug.

He doesn’t remember making the mug he holds, but considering someone wrote his name in careful cursive on the bottom, he must have once upon a time. Felix can’t imagine Gabriel ever allowing the twins to go to one of those pottery places; some part of him yearns for the chance to go again. It seems like something Nathaniel would love based on his artistry, but he might prefer drawing to anything more…  _ Physical. _

As a child, he drew a simple enough design. A painted animal which could be a cat or a dog, and he drew what appears to be a butterfly on the other side. Embarrassingly enough, he painted a lopsided heart in between the two. He can’t imagine what business a cat-dog-creature had with a butterfly.

The one Nathalie holds came from Adrien with a painted family of smiling blonds. Two little boys with two adults, one being a woman with slick blonde hair falling to her shoulders.

After a few seconds, the coffee maker beeps, and he pours out the coffee. “Would you like to trade?”

“Trade?” Nathalie holds out hers, and he finishes, the steam billowing out of both cups now. 

He nods. “I assume using Adrien’s cup might make you a little… Uncomfortable.”

“Why? Because I’m not a member of your family in it?” She smirks when Felix pauses, thrown off guard. While he spends a lot of time with Nathalie, they rarely do it without someone else in the room. And Nathalie never fails to adapt to the person she’s with. He once compared her to a chameleon, trying on new faces to make sure she matched the person she spoke with. 

For the life of him, Felix can’t imagine caring about someone’s opinion that much. The only person he’d ever change for would be Adrien, and the basis of their relationship revolves around their differences. He doubts Adrien would ever ask him to be different, even if Felix might embarrass him in public.

Finally, Felix shakes his head. “Of course not. I just assumed…”

“Your mother and I were friends. Though I imagine she would not look too fondly of me indulging your tendencies to stay up far too late.” She pauses, taking a sip, and then walking out of the room. When he doesn’t follow, she turns and raises an eyebrow. “Do you intend to drink this all in the kitchen?”

“I’m not sitting in the dining room—” 

“I’m not going to the dining room.” Then, she leaves. He falls into step behind Nathalie, taking a second to analyze her. While she might be off the clock, God knows Gabriel goes to bed at eight PM, he never sees Nathalie in pajamas. Even now, as his flannel pants hang over his feet and drag on the floor (something he’d never let Gabriel see since Felix doesn’t even know where he got them), she wears her red turtleneck and black slacks. She only lost the black blazer.

But she streaked red into her hair, and it was very misleading. Dying your hair might as well be a clear sign you intended to rebel in some way… He wondered how his father would react if Felix dyed a strip of hair. Shave his head? The thought makes him snort, and Nathalie turns with a knowing smile.

Then, she pauses at the base of the stairs. He follows her gaze to the large portrait his father hung in front of the door. “I will never know why your father insists on documenting that particular one.”

“It’s the most current,” he says stiffly.

Nathalie glances at him. “If it was about recency, I will take a photo of you three tomorrow in the gardens. It seems like something else, and… Well, disregard that. I cannot fathom living with your father’s mind.”

“I can’t imagine wanting to.” And he really means it. Every time someone compliments him for being like Gabriel, he wants to jump out of a window. The only person he counts as his family, biologically, would be Adrien. Whatever people think of his mother, of Gabriel, he doesn’t care. Felix would change his last name if he had the capability. “Is that all you needed?”

“Of course it isn’t.” Nathalie turns away from the photo. “Want to go talk in the gardens? I won’t tell your father.”

“Of course.” 

Before he goes out, he pauses to analyze the photo she spoke of. It  _ was  _ the most recent photo. Felix bowed out of any photo shoots possible, and his father didn’t believe in public appearances. Yet, last year, they asked the Agrestes to do a photo shoot on Mother’s Day—to show different families when it came to Mother’s Day. So, they dressed in funeral gear and stared at the camera, looking dead inside.

He didn’t understand the publicity of the shoot; he didn’t understand why they agreed.

He doesn’t understand why they mourn a mother neither of them really knows.

Felix goes to find Nathalie.

-

_ Duusu fell in love with his Wielders within a day. While he knew Fu might choose wrong and all of that, Duusu couldn’t care less. If someone pinned that brooch to their tie, they were the right pick for Duusu. He didn’t care if they were the most stylish fashionista or the drab book nerd; he got along with everyone after all.  _

_ Today, he sat on the top of the box while Katsumi Tsurugi practiced her fencing ability. In her backyard, she held that sword she spent all of her savings on. Her parents didn’t think it was proper she spent so much time on fencing; it couldn’t be a future. She couldn’t base the rest of her life in it, and it wasn’t practical. Even if it came to self-defense, it wasn’t likely she would have a sword on her. _

_ “You know,” he said as she continued to jab at that invisible opponent, “I can summon some darts for you to practice with! You can have an even better aim!” _

_ “I have time to practice with those later. It’s all in the schedule I showed you,” Katsumi huffed, a stray strand of hair flew outwards. She grimaced and straightened. “Duusu, do you think I pull off a shaved head?” _

_ “Well, you do have  _ amazing  _ cheekbones, and it’d look nice…” Duusu hummed, considering. Then, he frowned. “Would your parents let you?” _

_ “Maybe I’m living on the wild side.” She rolled her eyes though, making it clear she had no intention to go through with it. She did reach up with a gloved hand, dancing over her cheekbone. “Maybe something shorter though. I could make a good case for needing shorter hair.” _

_ “You should.” He nodded sincerely. _

_ She laughed before glancing inside. Then, she cupped her hands and waited for Duusu to fall there. As he flew over, sitting up and staring at her in the most adorable way he knew, she started to retreat to the side of the house. “Would you like to go transform? Then, I can go practice on the rooftops.” _

_ “Are you hoping a certain  _ somebody  _ shows up?” He flicked his tail up and winked at her. _

_ As she leaned her sabre against the wall, she reached to cover where she pinned the brooch over her heart. “Are you hoping a certain somebody shows up?” _

_ “Ew, no! I don’t… No!” He threw himself down dramatically as she laughed, flopping his tail over his head to hide. Then, he peeked up between his feathers. “But if you think they’d come if we went, I’m not saying  _ no…”

_ “I can’t get a good gauge on your relationship with Trixx. Friends or something more?” She crouched down behind her dumpster and pulled out her phone, texting something about going out to study with her friends.  _

_ He scoffed. “I don’t care about Trixx!” _

_ “Weren’t you the person who told me about the balance? That the fox miraculous wielder will either be my best friend, my lover, or my enemy?” She grinned. “So, which one is Trixx to you?” _

_ “It’s none of your business.” He sniffed. _

_ She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it isn’t. Duusu,  _ feathers flared.”

_ As he went willingly into her brooch, he couldn’t help but smile. Katsumi easily was the best Wielder he had in generations… Perhaps  _ ever.  _ She could change the world with how strong she was. _

_ He just hoped she wouldn’t believe the lies of a certain someone… She gave him the creeps, and it took a lot to do that. _

**Author's Note:**

> SNEAK PEEK:
> 
> "Wow, Adrien, you're really good at acting!"  
> "Well, yeah! Being fake's my day job!"  
> ...  
> "Are you okay?"


End file.
